Royals Continue Road Success in Florida, 4-2
Published on February 1, 2012 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release
Estero, Florida - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (19-19-3-344, 3rd Atlantic Division), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, defeated the Florida Everblades (21-20-1-346, 4th South Division), 4-2, at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. The Royals got a third period tie breaking game winning goal from defenseman Dave Cowan, who returned to the line-up tonight after a ten game absence due to injury, to pull out the team's league leading fourteenth road win of the year (14-7-2-1).
Goaltender Jussi Rynnas (win, 2-1-0-0 47/49) earned the first star by racking up a number of difficult saves in what seemed to be an unrelenting onslaught from the Everblades. Florida's Shane Owen (loss, 5-7-0-3, 24/28) sustained the loss in his first game for Florida since being traded from the Utah Grizzlies. Reading's power play came through on the team's first chance with the man advantage to score the first goal of the game (1-5). Florida, which came into the game with the third ranked power play in the league, was held off the board in five chances with the man advantage (0-5).
Despite an early attack from the Everblades, the Royals struck first 5:56 into the game while playing with the man advantage. Denny Urban fired a hard snap shot from the high slot. Owen made the save, but the rebound fell to the top of the crease, where a waiting Kenny Ryan punched it back in for his third of the year.
Florida tied the game 10:44 into the first when defenseman Mike Ratchuk took possession behind the Royals' net, carried above the goal line and took a sharp-angled back-hand from deep on the left side. The puck appeared to glance off the left shoulder of Rynnas and flutter into the upper portion of the net for Ratchuk's fifth of the year.
Reading answered four-and-a-half minutes later when Everett Sheen took control behind the Florida net and slid a perfect pass to Tyler Brenner who had found a soft spot below the hash-marks in front of the Everblade net. Brenner wasted no time in drilling the puck low blocker for his third of the year to make it 2-1 Reading.
Florida tied it up a second time however with just 39.8 seconds left in the first period. Mathieu Roy battled to gain possession behind the Royals' net, carried just above the goal line on the left side, and then slipped a cross-crease touch pass to Trevor Bruess, who found a seam between a couple of Reading defenders on the back-door and tapped it in for his tenth of the year.
After a scoreless second, Reading got what proved to be the game winner, when Yannick Tifu got the puck deep to the left corner. Olivier Labelle dug the puck out, drew the attention of the Florida defenders and found the third-man in-Dave Cowan-with a diagonal up pass to the mid-slot. Cowan took a stride and drilled a perfectly placed bullet low glove side that hit the right pipe and then appeared to strike the crossbar as it when 'around-the-horn' and in for his first as a pro.
John Scrymgeour added some insurance with just 2:32 left when Brenner slipped one from behind the Florida net to Scrymgeour who was waiting in the low slot and blasted the puck by Owen for his fifth of the year. The Royals held on down the stretch to run the team's record to 3-1-0-0 in the team's current six-game road trip.
The Royals play the second of three in a row against the Everblades on Friday (February 3, 2012 @ 7:30 pm) at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. The game night broadcast on Friday will start at 7:00 pm with the Red Robin Gourmet Burger Pre-Game Warm-up Show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Reading. Streaming audio is available free of charge courtesy of America One through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com. As with all Royals' road games this season, Friday's game will be televised locally in Berks County Pennsylvania on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
ECHL Stories from February 1, 2012
- Royals Continue Road Success in Florida, 4-2 - Reading Royals
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